Obama calls for shareholder say on CEO pay

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Barack Obama must not be going for the CEO vote.

The Illinois senator used a campaign stop in Indianapolis on Friday to call for giving shareholders a say on what corporate chief executives make, saying the current system rewards bad behavior.

"If you're a Wall Street CEO today, it doesn't seem to matter whether you're doing a good job or a bad job for your shareholders and workers. You'll be rewarded either way," Obama said in Indianapolis, according to remarks prepared for delivery.

Last year, Obama introduced a bill that would make companies "disclose and justify the salary and benefit packages offered to executives" by allowing shareholders a non-binding vote on those packages.

Obama's Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, has also blasted CEO pay in recent days. Last weekend, he criticized the head of Bear Stearns for cashing in millions of dollars in stock and the head of Countrywide for making "huge amounts of money" while many Americans are faced with losing their homes.

Obama said he was "glad to hear" McCain's criticism of CEO pay but chided the Arizona senator for "continuing the do-nothing approach of the Bush years" on executive compensation when he had the chance to address the issue.

McCain has a slight edge over Obama in the latest Rasmussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll. McCain leads his Democratic rival just 47% to 44%. Matched up against Sen. Hillary Clinton, however, McCain has a bigger advantage: 48% to 42%.

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